Composer(s)

Producer(s)

EP

Singles Chronology

dont smile at me Chronology

Music Video

"Ocean Eyes", stylized as "ocean eyes", is a song by Billie Eilish from her debut extended play (EP), dont smile at me. It was also included on the soundtrack of The Hate U Give.[1] It was released on November 18th, 2016 through Darkroom and Interscope Records. The Astronomyy remix of the song peaked at number 25 on Billboard's Spotify Velocity chart.

Contents

Cross-references

Background

When asked about how the song came about in an interview with Teen Vogue's Ariana Marsh, Billie said:

"Aside from singing, I'm also a dancer. I've been dancing since I was eight. Last year, one of my teachers asked if I would either write a song or have my brother write a song to choreograph a dance to. I was like, 'yes, that's such a cool thing to do!' Then, my brother came to me with 'Ocean Eyes', which he had originally written for his band. He told me he thought it would sound really good in my voice. He taught me the song and we sang it together along to his guitar and I loved it—it was stuck in me head for weeks. We kind of just decided that that was the song we were going to use for the dance. We put it on SoundCloud with a free download link next to it so my dance teacher could access it. We had no intentions for it, really. But basically overnight a ton of people started hearing it and sharing it. Hillydilly, a music discovery website, found it and posted it and it just got bigger and bigger. It was really surreal. Then, Danny Ruckasin, who is now my manager, reached out to my brother and was like, 'dude, this is going to get huge and I think you're going to need help along the way. I want to help you guys.' We were like, 'that's swag!'"

Critical Reception

Chris DeVille of Stereogum said "the song is pure pop, a ballad about longing for reconciliation with an ex. I can imagine it becoming a major hit, and director Megan Thompson's video will certainly help. Idolator's Mike Wass labeled it a "dreamy ballad". Mathias Rosenzweig of Vogue stated "On Billie Eilish's breakthrough track, 'Ocean Eyes', she compares love to falling off a cliff, surrounded by the warlike intensity of napalm skies. It's a profound description for a 14-year-old, and it's led to an enormous amount of interest in her debut song—as well as the singer herself. Like the title suggests, her airy falsetto vocals also conjure up thoughts of the ocean washing over the song's mellow percussion and minimalist synths. The song's maturity paired with a few childish ideals—she sings, for example, that love is 'no fair'—struck a chord with an audience much older than Eilish and racked up a total of more than 2,000,000 streams on Spotify." Billboard's Jason Lipshutz called it "understated and heartbreaking".

Music Video

Music video

Information

Billie Eilish - Ocean Eyes (Official Music Video)

Released

March 24, 2016

Length

3:20

Director

Megan Thompson

Producer

Megan Thompson

Filmed

Location

Views

155+ million

Music video

Information

Billie Eilish - Ocean Eyes (Dance Performance Video)

Released

November 22, 2016

Length

3:20

Director

WeWrkWknds

Producer

Filmed

Location

Views

26+ million

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I've been watching you for some time
Can't stop staring at those ocean eyes
Burning cities and napalm skies
Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes
Your ocean eyes

[Chorus]
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you give me those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes

[Verse 2]
I've been walking through a world gone blind
Can't stop thinking of your diamond mind
Careful creature made friends with time
You left her lonely with a diamond mind
And those ocean eyes

[Chorus]
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you give me those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes

[Outro]
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you give me those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes

[Chorus: Billie Eilish]
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you give me those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes

[Verse 2: blackbear]
Yeah, yeah-eah-eah
I ain't really trippin' if you wanna go
I know I made you cry last year when I was on the road
I meant it when I said it, you can always hit my phone
(213) 267-9932, girl you know-ow-ow
I'ma make this fetty, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
I never would forget you, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Look me in my eyes, tell me you ain't a part of me, no fair

[Chorus: Billie Eilish & blackbear]
No fair (Yeah, yeah-eah-eah)
You really know how to make me cry
When you give me those ocean eyes
I'm scared (Girl, I'm scared)
I've never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes (Ocean eyes)
No fair (No fair, no fair)
You really know how to make me cry (Know how to make me cry)
When you give me those ocean eyes (Those ocean eyes)
I'm scared (I'm scared)
I've never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes

[Outro: Billie Eilish]
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you give me those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes

Artwork

Promotional Photoshoot

Certifications and chart performance

Region

Certification

Certified units/sales

United States (RIAA)

Platinum

1,000,000

United Kingdom (BPI)

Gold

400,000

Canada (Music Canada)

3x Platinum

240,000

Australia (ARIA)

2x Platinum

140,000

Mexico (AMPROFON)

2x Platinum

120,000

The track peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 over three years after its release. It had not entered the chart before 2019. In the same year, it also peaked at #4 on the US Alternative Digital Song Sales and was the 11th biggest song on the chart in that year.